More Transport Options for Tourists Travelling Korea on a Budget

Travelling in Korea these days is more reasonable than ever with so many transport options available to explore the country on the cheap. With hop on hop off buses in major cities and good value rail passes available it’s never been easier to navigate your way around the country.

Exploring Seoul and Busan is made easy for tourists by jumping on one of the hop on hop off tour buses that operate on several routes throughout Seoul as well as Busan. In Seoul you can join the Seoul panorama course or the downtown course or night tour course as well. The downtown course costs 12,000 Korean won (approx. A$14.90). Book online and you can get a 10% discount on tickets.

There are many other discounts available with the Seoul city tour bus pass allowing free entry to certain museums and the Seoul downtown course has 22 stops within the city including the famous royal palaces, museums, markets and more. It’s a simple way to move around Seoul and see as much as possible in a short visit. See: http://en.seoulcitybus.com/

Seoul has recently introduced a quirky rickshaw bike service with the popular children’s animated character ‘Larva’ featured on the rickshaw bikes. Passengers can choose from six different routes, taking a rickshaw ride through the traditional hanok (house) village of Bukchon in northern Seoul is one of the highlights.

In PSY’s hometown of Gangnam you can join the Gangnam city tour bus (approx. A$7) on the blue and pink lines where visitors can enjoy a little bit of Gangnam style of their own visiting the famous designer boutiques, restaurants and cafes of this now famous area of Seoul. And if you are lucky you may even see some of Korea’s famous K-Pop stars, actors or even PSY himself. http://www.gangnamtour.go.kr/eng1/main/main.php

The Busan City Tour Bus departs the main railway station and has two routes to the Haeundae and Taejongdae areas covering all the major attractions of the city. It’s a great way to explore this major seaport and the second largest city in Korea. Stop off at Jaglachi Seafood market and have a seafood feast along the way.

You can explore beautiful Jeju Island off the southern coast of Korea nowadays with the Jeju City Tour Bus slashing its fares from July 1, 2015. The fare for adults will be reduced from 5,000 won to just 1,200 won regardless of the distance travelled. So, for approximately A$1.30 a ride it makes for an easy way to see the sights of Jeju city.

For under 25’s there is a special Rail-Ro pass being sold during the peak travel season from June to August and December to February. At this time if you are under 25 years of age and present a passport at any rail station across Korea you can buy the Rail-Ro pass which will give you unlimited travel across the rail network (not including KTX trains) for five or seven days. The five day pass costs 56,500 won(approx. A$65) and the seven day pass costs 62,700 won(approx. A$73). For more information go to www.letskorail.com